Recap / Leal Argentine Antarctica

Antarctica Recap:
Index | Neuschwabenland | OFN Antarctic Administration | Argentine Antarctica

Argentina has had a long history of exploring Argentina, setting up weather stations and observatories since the early 1900s. Their push into the southern continent was amplified during the 1940s-50s, where they seized the territories previously owned by Britain, which had fallen victim to the Nazi war machine in World War II. In this campaign, General Hernán Pujato established the San Martín Base and the Instituto Antártico Argentino (Argentine Antarctic Institute), dedicated to the peaceful research and exploration of Antarctica. Thus would lay the groundwork for Argentine Antarctica.

Unfortunately, the territory they occupied included the land claims held by Argentina's neighbor, Chile, who have used the ancient Treaty of Tordesillas to justify their ownership . Open conflict started in 1952 when an Argentinian patrol fired upon a group of Chilean surveyors, starting years of shoving and bickering between the two countries. The OFN attempted to mediate the conflict and seemed to be achieving success by 1958, but the Argentinian Navy hated the idea of foreigners judging the terms of a potential treaty and demanding a demilitarization of the continent. With their patience broken, they invaded Chile's Antarctic territories in the Snipe War, seizing the western portions of Chile's claims and the Beagle Channel. Chile has never forgiven Argentina for this blatant aggression and even many within the AAI were concerned of the Navy's belligerence. Despite this, the Navy continue to encroach on Chilean territory, claiming their islands and culminating in the Wiencke Incident, where two Chilean soldiers are murdered by Argentinian sailors.

Leading the AAI is Colonel Jorge Edgar Leal, an explorer and pacifist stationed in Esperanza Base who opposes the Navy's plans. Rather than a military base and a jumping point to invade the Chileans, Leal sees Antarctica as a boon for scientific discovery and bold adventure, believing that it shouldn't be soiled with warfare and strife. Always eager for a challenge, Leal's grand objective is Operación 90, a journey to the South Pole where he and his team can plant a flag there. Not only will this forever legitimize Argentina's claim over Antarctica, it will also prove the AAI's worthiness over the Navy. As Leal realizes, the Navy has far too much power over the AAI by threatening to withhold supplies from them; if Argentine Antarctica is to remain strictly committed to peace, the AAI must be independent of the Navy and completing Operación 90 will buy him the time to do so.

To prepare for the journey, Leal assembles a crew who share his vision of Antarctica.. Standing loyally by Leal's side is Gustavo Adolfo Giró, a close friend who is just as concerned with the militarization of Antarctica. Next is Juan Carlos Beltramino, a diplomat who played a major role in securing Argentina's claim over Antarctica and will reach foreign contacts willing to sponsor Operación 90 or provide some other form of aid. Leal is also backed by the Argentinian Air Force's liaison, Mario Luis Olezza. Relevant to Operación 90, he's tasked with scouting a location to build Sobral Sub-Base, which will conduct reconnaissance in the Antarctic Interior and act as a supply outpost for the crew traveling to the South Pole. More discreetly, Leal instructs Olezza to build a larger airfield that will be a central logistic hub for Argentine Antarctic, setting the groundwork of weakening the Navy's pressure on the AAI. Rounding out Leal's clique is Pujato himself, tasked with training the personnel for Operación 90 and Antarctic survival.

Traversing to the South Pole means braving some of the most unforgiving environments on planet Earth, so stockpiling supplies will be essential. Supplies will be stored in Sobral Base, as well as Belgrano Base, the southernmost Argentinian outpost where the crew will be picked up from, if they return aliveThere are three vehicle options that can be used in Operación 90, including the reliable Argentinian Tucker Sno-Cat, the maneuverable Swedish Aktiv Fischer Snow Trac, and the spacious Thiokol's Trackmaster 4T-10. Regardless of which option is picked, improvements and upgrades will be needed to make them more suitable for long-distance Antarctic travel.

Meanwhile, more crew members are assembled into the main exploratory team of Operación 90, the South Pole Assault Group. These include Ricardo Bautista Ceppi, Julio César Ortíz, Jorge Raúl Rodríguez, and Carlos Guido Bulacio as the mechanics, Roberto Humberto Carrión, and Adolfo Oscar Moreno as the surveyors, Domingo Zacarías as the communications officer, and Oscar Ramón Alfonso as the patrolman. The Assault Group will also be joined by the Patrol 82 Team, who will temporarily travel with them until they can reach the Santa Fe Mountain Range to collect its untouched geological treasures and claim it in the name of Argentina. Adolfo Eugenio Goetz will serve as the Patrol 82 Commander, with Leonardo Isabel Guzmán acting as the mechanic, and Ramon Villar and Marcelo Enoc Alvarez acting as the patrolmen. Lastly, Pedro Angel Acosta will be the Sub-Base Commander of Sobral, joined by Alfredo Florencio Pérez and Hugo Orlando Britos as his mechanics. Though more people are recruited into the mission, maintaining its secrecy remains paramount to Operación 90's success, especially keeping it away from the prying eyes of Germany, the OFN, Japan, and Chile.

While the AAI is busy at work, outside affairs occasionally haggle Argentine Antarctica and require Leal's attention. Firstly is the collapse of the Triumvirate, where Argentina showcases their continued cooperation with Italy by leasing Galindez Island to them, in exchange for economic concessions and military equipment. As Admiral Giovanni Torrisi sails to Antarctica and establishes the Italian Antarctic Research Zone, the Argentinians notice how ill-prepared they are to survive the cold and their words are proven true when the Italians beg for aid in the coming winter season. Heeding the request will earn Torrisi's gratitude and vow of loyalty. Of greater concern though is the actors within the Navy, specifically revolving around Captain Emilio Eduardo Massera.

In many ways, Massera represents the worst stereotypes of an Argentinian naval commander, being an egotistical, glory-seeking warmonger who wants to invade and destroy the Chileans residing in Antarctica. Commanding the Almirante Brown Naval Detachment, Massera is emboldened to lead a small-scale invasion of the Chilean-owned Adelaide Island, believing that a victory here will propel him into a legendary status. However, Massera's first fatal mistake is leading his flotilla in an ice floe, trapping them for days and permitting only three ships, including his own, to escape when a lead opens up. Still believing that surprise will win him the day, Massera orders his soldiers to land and attack Adelaide Island, vastly underestimating the Chilean defenses there and starting a horrifically violent battle that inflicts casualties on both sides. Though the island falls to Massera's hands, it's clear to everyone that they lack the resources and manpower to garrison the island for long, so they have to clean up their mess and try publicly chalking the destruction to a fire. Their retreat is equally disastrous, as the surviving flotilla is trapped in another ice floe and several more sailors die before Pujato leads a rescue effort to save the survivors, including Massera. Clearly demonstrating Massera's untrustworthiness, Leal is emboldened to complete Operación 90 and may reassign Pujato to stay behind so he can keep an eye on the Navy while he's absent.

The pieces are all set and, on October 25, 1963, Leal's team embarks to the Great White Nothing. After a casual and energetic first Day, the crew is besieged by many natural obstacles they need to pass, the first being the Great Rift, an unstable sheet of ice covered in sharp sastrugi and crevasses capable of swallowing the convoy. Throughout the journey, it is imperative that Leal conserve their fuel and food. Running out of the former will deprive the convoy of their snowcats and force them to continue their journey on foot. Exhausting all the food is even worse because the crew lack the energy to complete their mission, so Leal must carefully ration it at all costs. If they are deprived of food, the convoy will resort to increasingly desperate measures to survive, including the consumption of their sled dogs, spare leather, and even one of their dead comrades. However, these measures only buy them a few more days of survival before they are picked off by the cold, starvation, or disease. Once the entire crew, including Leal and Giró, are dead, the AAI's credibility will plummet and Massera is given command of Argentine Antarctica. Calling in more arms to his new territory, Massera plans an even larger invasion of the Chilean Antarctic territory. He doesn't care for the government's approval and hopes that his conquest will launch him into national fame, possibly even to the presidency, ending the game on an ominous note.

So long as the supplies are responsibly managed, Leal's crew will avert such a grim fate and continue onward. Eventually the Assault Group and Patrol 82 reach Sobral Base. If Operación 90 was kept secret, the convoy will be afforded several day's worth of rest and supplies to complete the journey. However, if it was leaked to the Chileans, the crew discovers that they've destroyed Sobral Base and killed the crew in revenge for Massera's attack on Adelaide island. Denied previous resources, Leal can do nothing but give a brief funeral procession in honor of the Sobral crew.

At 82 degrees South latitude, Patrol 82 disembarks from the Assault Group, eager to explore the Santa Fe Range, while the others continue their journey to the South Pole. Having more supplies allocated to them and collecting more than 3 samples from Santa Fe will be an astounding victory for Patrol 82, but their efforts may be rendered null if the OFN discovered Operación 90 and send their soldiers to ambush them; Held at gunpoint, Patrol 82 sees their samples stolen and their planted flag toppled, while they are sent back home empty handed.

Meanwhile, the Assault Group reaches their destination in the South Pole and plant their flag, though Leal's feelings on the matter will depend on the circumstances; the more crew members who perished on the journey, the more depressed and empty Leal will feel about his victory, wondering how everything went so wrong. Otherwise, if no casualties were sustained, Leal and his men will be jubilant before eagerly returning to Belgrano Base, potentially picking up the crew of Sobral on the way, if they are alive. Having secured Argentina's claim over Antarctica, the Operación 90 crew are flown to Buenos Aires and afforded a stay in one of their most luxurious hotels, the Alvear Palace, to hail them as heroes. Though satisfied that his dream has come true, Leal knows that the work is far from over; Massera and the Navy are still a credible threat to the AAI and they aren't going to bury the hatchet out of pure jealousy for their success. With the South Pole conquered, Leal can devote his full attention to the growing threat and assembles his comrades for the coming race. Whether he succeeds or not remains a story yet to be told.

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This route provides examples of:

• Always Night: Inverted during Operación 90. As the group makes it closer to the South Pole, nightfall becomes little more than a few hours of gray twilight and the Sun shines for the majority of the day. However, this still poses a challenge to the expedition, as everyone's circadian rhythms are disrupted and fatigue can hit them at any inopportune time.
• Ambiguous Situation: Though the German ambassador, Roald Amundsen, doesn't do anything tangible if he discovers Operación 90, he tells Beltramino that he wants to form a future alliance to stand against the OFN and wishes the Argentinians luck on their upcoming venture. Beltramino wonders why he would wish Argentina luck on anything and why a lowly diplomat would propose an alliance, but these questions go unanswered for now.
• Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering?: While searching the list of applicants for Operación 90, Leal and Giró agree that they need an expert on winterized automotives. With one look at a particular file, Giró asks Leal if he's thinking of the same man and pulls out the file on Ricardo Bautista Ceppi, the lead mechanic of Esperanza Base.
• Being Watched: As Patrol 82 explores Santa Fe, Lieutenant Goetz feels like they're being watched by someone, even after they've collected all the samples they need and can leave for Sobral. If the secrecy of Operación 90 was maintained, these fears turn out to be nothing. If it wasn't, the members of Patrol 82 are ambushed by OFN soldiers and have their geological samples and maps stolen.
• Bittersweet Ending: There are several variations to the Operación 90 ending, depending on certain conditions and with varying levels of bittersweetness:
  • If Operación 90 is revealed to the Chileans and 1-3 crew members die along the way, Leal will mourn the men's lost, but still express pride in his achievement and he erects a cross for each man not present.
  • If 3-7 crew members die, the surviving team members will breathe a sigh of relief that they made it, but still mourn those they have lost. Though Leal knows they will be remembered in Argentina as martyrs, he still feels guilty that he didn't prepare enough to prevent their deaths and builds a single cross in their memory, while everyone salutes it out of respect. Leal looks at an old photo of the entire team with mixed feelings before affixing it to the base of his radio mast.
  • If more than 7 members die, the taste of bitterness is overpowering. While the team achieved their mission of reaching the South Pole, Leal cannot bear the number of men who died on his watch. He solemnly looks at a photo of everyone in the team and buries it at the base of an improvised flag pole to remember them, not even having the energy or materials to build crosses.
  • The Assault Group's ending can be made slightly more bitter if Patrol 82 lacked greater funding and didn't collect more than 3 samples, meaning that their findings are mediocre at best, unable to prove their doubters wrong or excite their supporters. It's even worse if they were intercepted by OFN soldiers, depriving them of anything to bring back home and further weakening the cause of peaceful exploration in Antarctica.
• Blatant Lies: Since Massera lacks the manpower to hold Adelaide Island for long, he tries covering his invasion by cleaning up the damage and blaming a fire for destroying the Chilean base. It's so contrived that Pujato knows that Chile won't buy it in the long run.
• Body Motifs: The signal building of Esperanza Base is compared to the central nervous system of Argentina Antarctica. It permits communication between different outposts, coordinates logistics and permits organized military activity, making it paramount to the territory's survival.
• Boring, but Practical: One proposed vehicle to use in Operación 90 is the Swedish Aktiv Fischer Snow Tracs. Their only major deviation from the Tucker Sno-Cats is that they operate by a steering wheel instead of levers, but this modest change makes them much easier to learn and drive.
• Both Sides Have a Point: Adolfo Eugenio Goetz brings up a concern to Giró that Patrol 82 hasn't been getting their fair share of supplies for Operación 90 and wants a greater cut, which will increase the amount of scientific data collected. However, Giró is more hesitant to immediately oblige because the main team will face even greater challenges of reaching the South Pole and planting the flag to legitimize their expedition. It's up to the player to decide which side is right or maintain the current allocation of resources for both sides.
• Break Out the Museum Piece: The Rosario is a pre-WWI river gunboat deployed in Antarctica to patrol its waters, despite being unspecialized to handle those conditions. It's only used because Argentina needs more boats to defend its land claims, especially from Chile. When it's deployed in Massera's invasion, the crew knows that the boat isn't going to come out unscathed, which is proven right when it gets caught in an ice floe.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: If supplies are given to the Navy, an attentive Petty Officer notices that there has been an excess of military material being sent to Primavera Base, far more than they need to defend their claim. More suspicious are the civilian ships that pick up these supplies and make them disappear for unexplained reasons. Despite this, the Petty Officer doesn't look further into the issue, mostly because he doesn't care so long as his men are fed and he can enjoy the supply of canned peaches.
• Brutal Honesty: If a feast is hosted in San Martín Base, an exhausted Second Sailor honestly admits to Pujato that they're pushed too hard because they are rarely given a break to catch their breath. Pujato appreciates the honest and mentions that it's hard to find such openness lately.
• But Now I Must Go: Leal has a bittersweet departure with the crew at Sobral Base, since the latter have completed their job and the South Pole Assault Group still needs to continue their journey. However, Leal takes a photo with them to commemorate their shared achievement before leaving.
• But Wait, There's More!:
  • The Swedes are eager to have their Snow Tracs used in Operación 90 and sweeten the deal by offering a contract with Bofors so the Argentinians receive more anti-aircraft weaponry.
  • A deal to use the Trackmasters is made more enticing when Tiokol offers an exclusive discount that makes them incredibly affordable.
• Call-Back: After Leal's sled is overturned, the Assault Group can leave the snowcat behind and save it as a cache of supplies for the return trip. After making it to the South Pole and turning back around, they recover this snowcat, siphon its gasoline, and scavenge the supplies still left in its cabin.
• Canine Companion:
  • The Argentinians are heavily reliant on huskies to pull their sleds, in case the winds ground the aircraft and the Sno-Cats break down. The men's hearts melt as they work with the dogs and they are accustomed enough to learn their pack behavior while training.
  • During Giró's journey to San Martín, one of his men nearly slips off a sharp cliff when his chain breaks, only saved when one of the dogs lunges and bites to grab him. Giró witnesses the scene and is reminded of how no one would be alive without the dogs.
• Cliffhanger: If successful, Leal will enjoy his hard-earned victory of planting a flag in the South Pole, but Massera is still active and a political rival who threatens to take over Argentine Antarctica. The battle for the continent is not over, but Operación 90 has given Leal the legitimacy needed to potentially beat the Captain.
• Cold Snap: Reaching the South Pole means braving temperatures reaching -50 degrees Celsius during the summer months, but a cold snap descends on the convoy and causes the temperature to dip to -60 degrees, possibly -70 degrees with the wind. It gets so bad that the crew can break out their cookstoves and emergency heaters.
• Crazy Enough to Work: Olezza can dare ride a Douglas C-47 in the middle of a winter storm to rescue a stranded crew, which shocks a mechanic at how crazy the idea is. Though the C-47 suffers from turbulence and the cold, the rescue attempt works and Olezza saves a crew with one man unconscious and injured.
• A Day in the Limelight: Eventually, Patrol 82 disembarks from the main characters in the Assault Group, beginning their own subplot where they explore the Santa Fe region for geographical interests, including fossils.
• Death or Glory Attack: When the Navy snub the AAI of a supply delivery, Leal can use the emergency stock of supplies to increase the chances of Operación 90 succeeding, yet risk a potential crisis in Esperanza Base. This decision will heighten the stakes of Operación 90 succeeding and draw worse consequences if it fails.
• Dirty Coward: The Argentinian Navy is content to harass Chilean patrols and territories, but when an American flotilla invades Argentinian waters, the Navy stands down out of self-preservation and requires Olezza to handle the crisis.
• Downer Ending: If all food sources are exhausted, the Assault Group of Operación 90 perish one by one until even Leal and Giró freeze to death, potentially along with Pujato, if he came. The years and resources vested in their journey will have gone to waste, while Massera takes over Argentine Antarctica, planning an invasion of Chile's Antarctic territory and dooming even more lives to satiate his ego.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: While scoping out Adelaide Island as Argentina's next land claim, Beltramino tells a lieutenant to try limiting the bloodshed, in case the situation turns violent. However, the lieutenant feels disrespected that a citizen would dictate how he acts on the battlefield, so he replies "When the time comes, I will do as my captain orders" in a non-committal tone.
• Due to the Dead:
  • When news of Hitler's death reaches Antarctica, Leal raises a glass and can give a toast to the legacy he's left behind or, at least, wish for a peaceful future in Germany. It can also be subverted if Leal doesn't pay a word to Hitler's memory and brings attention back to Operación 90 as their finest hour.
  • If the Chileans discover and destroy Sobral Base, the Assault Group will find the ruins and honor the late crew with a raised Argentine flag, a mock burial and a funeral procession. It's not much, but it's the most they can do in their circumstances.
  • If Operación 90 is leaked and/or 1-3 crew members perish before reaching the South Pole, Leal will honor their memory by erecting a cross for each deceased man and includes them in the photograph of everyone. If 3-7 die, a single cross is erected instead and everyone salutes to it in their memory. More tragically, if more than 7 die, a photo of the entire team is buried, since the survivors can't build crosses for everyone.
• Dwindling Party: After the South Pole Assault Group uses up all their food sources, they're slowly picked off by exhaustion, malnutrition, disease and frostbite. Eventually, Leal and Giró are the only ones left before they too freeze to death in a storm.
• Exhausted Eye Bags: Giró's expedition team to San Martín have eyebags from their exhausting journey and talk about how they'll need to sleep for a week.
• Fingore: Right before the invasion of Adelaide Base, Pascal's hands are afflicted with frostbite and the doctors have to cut off his left thumb and right index finger.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Camara Base suddenly gets an uptick of visiting ships, including warships. Official reports from Camara Base makes a couple of suspicious reports, where the Río Quinto leaves its refueling station for Ushuaia, the ARA Rosario is undergoing repairs from a cracked hull, and the Mellino I is departing to catch a whale. From these reports, a radioman concludes that they can't be following orders from Esperanza Base and finds the whole situation peculiar, such as why the Río Quinto and Melino I would leave simultaneously and how the ARA Rosario doesn't need repairs. It's later revealed that they've been following orders by Massera, who's been growing more restless and willing to act of his own accord to attack Chile's bases.
  • If the OFN discovers Operación 90, Pujato will notice an unusual number of American personnel moving to their base on Stonington Island, close to San Martín, and more reports of OFN patrols moving into Argentine territory. Pujato finds it very suspicious, which ends up confirmed when Patrol 82 is intercepted at Santa Fe.
  • Meanwhile, if Operación 90 is leaked to the Chileans, Olezza receives a report of snowcat tracks near Belgrano Base, with the Argentinians knowing nothing about them other than the fact that their route's secrecy has been compromised. They discover too late that these tracks belonged to the Chileans and that it foreshadows their later attack on Sobral Base.
• Golden Ending: Besides reaching the South Pole, the most successful Operación 90 is dependent on it being successfully hidden from the world and losing no crew members during the venture, while Patrol 82 finds at least 3 geological samples to bring back. If these conditions are met, the Assault Group is elated that they've finally made it, roaring in cheers, drinking in a celebratory manner, taking a photo with the flag they've planted, and singing their anthem. If Pujato comes along, he also gets the satisfaction of knowing that he's conquered Antarctica and Leal personally thanks him for his years of loyal service. Meanwhile, Patrol 82 has proven the worthiness of future exploration and peace in Antarctica, snubbing the Navy's plans for militarization and legitimizing the AAI.
• Good-Guy Bar: The Operación 90 South Pole Assault Group spend their summer break drinking at a bar in Ushuaia.
• Heel Realization: The captain of the Rosario joins Massera's invasion of Adelaide Base and only realizes the short-sightedness of this plan when most of the navy perishes and the survivors are now trapped in an ice floe, facing imminent death from the cold, hunger, or scurvy. The captain admits to his surviving crew that Massera is a monster who's doomed everyone and tells them to radio Pujato for help, spending his last breath begging forgiveness for dooming his men.
• "Hell, Yes!" Moment:
  • After several nerve-wracking moments of crossing the Great Rift and guiding a convoy of snowcats, Giró is overjoyed to see Patrol 82 on the other side, meaning that he's made it safely so far and has a guide to make it out of the Great Rift.
  • As the Operación 90 crew pushes through a snow blizzard, Leal sees the vague resemblance of a structure and a figure waving to them, raising his spirits and telling Giró to hit the gas, knowing they've reached Sobral Base after a long, difficult journey.
• Heroes Gone Fishing: In one of their later rest stops to the South Pole, Leal starts a poker game with Giró to pass the time.
• History Repeats: Leal desperately wants to defy this trope, requesting that Argentina stop sending them weapons and militaristic munitions so they won't repeat the Snipe Incident and start another foreign conflict.
• Home Sweet Home: A Maltese logistics officer in Antarctica will be happy if Argentina makes a deal with Italy to buy their outdated weapons. The officer is glad that he can return home and get away from Antarctica, which he considers to be its own kind of hell.
• I Need a Freaking Drink:
  • Nearly losing a snowcat to a rift, Giró hopes that he can complete his journey to San Martín Base alive and thinks about how he needs a drink to relax.
  • After sleeping in Alvear Palace and having a nightmare, the first thing Leal requests after waking is Giró's champagne bottle, needing a drink.
• Indy Ploy: After crossing the Great Rift and about to depart for the Santa Fe Mountain Range, the convoy realizes that they are not on the path charted by Patrol 82. Rather than backtrack to their proposed route and lose time, the convoy can optionally improvise and risk going down a shorter, unexplored path.
• Kick the Dog: Out of spite towards their peaceful and exploratory intentions, the Navy denies Esperanza and San Martín of supplies, forcing the inhabitants to either face a supply shortage or cut rations in half.
• Killed Offscreen: If the Chileans discover Operación 90, they will destroy Sobral Base and kill the crew there offscreen. When Leal's convoy reaches the destroyed outpost, they only see a single patch of blood in the common area.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: If the OFN discover Operación 90, they ambush the Argentinian Patrol 82 while they are about to exit Santa Fe. The crew surrenders while they are at gunpoint and forced to turn the other way as the OFN steals their findings and takes down their flag.
• Knowledge Broker: If he accepts their deal for more intel, Beltramino will meet the lead Japanese diplomat, Takeso Shimoda, who reveals a ton of maps and diagrams about the Chilean territories. So much that Beltramino starts getting paranoid about what else the Japanese might know about their neighbors. Shimoda sends a terrifying, implicit message when he gives a handshake that hits a specific pressure point on Beltramino.
• Let's Split Up, Gang!:
  • Encountering an unusually high number of sastrugi, Giró and Goetz take their own dog teams and scout in opposite directions to find a way through the field.
  • Once the convoy reaches 82 degrees South latitude, the Patrol 82 and the South Pole Assault Group depart, as the former explores the Santa Fe region for geological samples and the latter continues their journey to the South Pole. Leal's only warning to Patrol 82 is to keep their eyes peeled for enemy stalkers, knowing that there are many people who want to see their mission fail.
• Lost World: The Santa Fe region mildly intimidates Patrol 82, knowing that no one has ever set foot in the area. As they explore, they discover all sorts of geological treasures, including Early Cambrian ash flow tuff-lahar.
• Manly Tears: If Pujato joins Operación 90, he is surprised and moved to tears when he sees a smooth steel plate, engraving the signatures of everyone in the South Pole Assault Group, Patrol 82, and Sobral Base to mark their achievement, where he adds his own signature to the list.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: One of Leal's steps to preventing a Navy coup is to gather a coalition of like-minded individuals, including the surviving crew members who personally witnessed Massera's disastrous actions and cowardice at the Battle of Adelaide Island.
• Mood Whiplash:
  • In the latter planning stages, Leal and Giró inspect the supplies for Operación 90, where the former sounds disappointed when he realizes that the latter miscalculated the storage on the snowcat. Just as Giró's heart sinks, Leal grins and heartily laughs in pleasant surprise that they actually have more storage than expected, creating a sudden sense of optimism that they can either bring more survival equipment, repair tools, or ammo.
  • The Belgrano crew are enjoying a casual party with tango music before they are interrupted with news that Adolf Hitler has passed away, silencing everyone in reaction.
• Mundane Luxury: By the time the South Pole Assault Group reaches Sobral on their return tripe, they see its relative safety as a stay in a luxury hotel, even though its a small base still planted in some of the harshest conditions on Earth.
• My God, What Have I Done?: When the Argentinians have broken through Adelaide Base's defenses, the Argentinians marines charge and kill the survivors, where Pascal shoots a surrendering soldier in cold blood. Immediately after this murder, Pascal drops his rifle and looks at his frostbitten hands, horrified at what he's done.
• Nature Is Not Nice:
  • For the Argentinians, winter is always the worst part of the year, as they'll have to survive temperatures dipping to -20 to -40 Celsius, as well as Katabatic winds that can bury outposts and freeze aircraft. It's so harsh that everyone on the continent stops fighting over land so they can focus on survival, as one freak accident could doom an entire base.
  • Beyond the typical cold and blizzards, the South Pole Assault Group are menaced by sastrugi, razor-sharp ice features capable of shredding snowcats. At one point, they encounter an unusually large field of them, ranging from the size of a football to that of a snowcat, forcing them to traverse by foot through a narrow safe gap.
• New Tech Is Not Cheap: Inverted. The Thiokol Trackmaster 4T-10 is the most recently invented vehicle that can be used in Operación 90 and it's only been tested in Alaska and Canada, not Antarctica. However, it's also an affordable vehicle because the manufacturer offers an exclusive discount if they are used.
• Nightmare Sequence: Leal's sleep in the Alvear Palace is interrupted with a nightmare where he is immobilized by frostbite and can hear his equally encumbered crew slowly perish in the same tent he's in. The nightmare ends when Leal is awakened by the sound of Giró opening a champagne bottle and making a gunshot-like sound.
• No Party Like a Donner Party: The absolute last food resort for the Assault Group is consuming one of their frozen, deceased comrades, not wasting a morsel of his body.
• Not Even Bothering with an Excuse: The Navy misses a supply delivery necessary for Operación 90's success and don't bother giving an excuse as to why. It's a passive-aggressive move to snub the AAI and Leal can't do anything but take the hit.
• Nothing but Skin and Bones: By the time the crew of the Rosario and San Martín are rescued by Pujato, they've become bone skinny from starvation.
• Paper Tiger: The Rosario river boat has no business exploring Antarctica, but it still wards off a Chilean ship from reaching Adelaide Island with a warning salvo, despite knowing how easily they can be destroyed if the Chileans retaliate. Fortunately for them, the show of force works and the Chilean ship turns, but Pascal worries that the Chileans will start getting bolder.
• Patriotic Fervor: Leal appeals to this feeling in the Institute so they will grant more favors in preparation of Operación 90. He just needs to remind them of how significant the achievement will be in Argentine history.
• Red Herring: While Operación 90 can be leaked to Argentina's neighbors, it only has tangible consequences if Chile or the OFN discover them.
  • Japan can discover the Argentinian plans for Operación 90 and send a scout plane into their territory. Leal catches sight of them and realizes that the Japanese have discovered his secret, but ultimately nothing comes from this discovery and Japan leaves Argentina alone for the journey.
  • A German ambassador sends Beltramino a letter, noting his disappointment that they kept Operación 90 a secret, but nonetheless wishes luck to their journey and hopes they can form an alliance against the OFN. Beltramino is stunned by what the ambassador could mean, though this doesn't change the story's trajectory, at least within the game's current timeframe.
• Revenge by Proxy: After Massera's attack on Adelaide Base, the Chileans will counterattack the Argentinians by raiding Sobral Base and killing the crew there, if they discover Operación 90. This will prove dire for Leal's group, as they have been denied a chance to rest and repair their vehicles, heightening the danger of future mistakes.
• Rousing Speech: If the Chileans discover Operación 90, they destroy Sobral Base. Everyone in the South Pole Assault Group is disheartened, but they regain their morale if Pujato is among the crew, where he gives a speech about how hard they need to fight and appealing to their sense of patriotism and heroism to continue the journey.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!:
  • Leal can ignore the Navy's request for more supplies and keep the dog sled teams to train them more. He knows that the Navy will be insulted by the slight against one of Argentina's most powerful institutions, but Leal doesn't care because he needs the dogs for Operación 90's success.
  • An Argentinian crew invade Wiencke island, owned by Chile, and murder the two soldiers there in cold-blood. The Second Sailor reports their crime to Pujato, renouncing his loyalty to the captain to do what's right.
• Scylla and Charybdis:
  • Passing the Great Rift makes the convoy realize that one of their sleds has a broken left runner and chassis, so they can either sacrifice some of their repair tools now to fix it or save them and take whatever they need from the sled before abandoning the rest. It's Leal's choice to decide which is the less bad option.
  • Several days into Operación 90, one of the radios breaks, forcing the crew to either sacrifice one of their repair tools to fix it or risk losing communication to Belgrano Base.
  • After disembarking from Patrol 82, Leal's sled overturns and loses one of its runners. Thus, the South Pole Assault Group must make another difficult choice between redistributing the sled's supplies to keep them for the rest of the journey or leave them behind so that the snowcat can act as a fuel cache during the return trip.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran:
  • If Beltramino makes a supply deal with Germany, a captain in Sankt Petersburg receives news that his ship will be sold to Argentina and he will be returned to Germany. However, the captain doesn't want to go home because he's been fighting Partisan Formation 13 for so long that he'd never live a normal life again and always suspect a partisan lurking behind the street corner.
  • Pascal survives the Battle of Adelaide Island, but he's left emotionally broken from the destruction he's witnessed, the deaths of his gunmates, and his own cruel execution of a surrendering soldier. In the aftermath, Pascal wakes in cold sweat from a nightmarish flashback of the battle and he urges Pujato to take extra precautions towards Massera and the Navy's influence, whether installing more guns in San Martín, dedicating even more supplies to Operación 90, or redirecting arms to Esperanza.
• Storming the Beaches: Massera's invasion of Adelaide Base begins with the assault boats landing on the coast and dropping off their soldiers. The strategy goes poorly; two of the boats are destroyed before they reach their destination and many of those who did land are torn apart by machine gunfire. The tides only change when the Almirante Brown fires artillery at the fortifications and destroys them, allowing the Argentinian marines to take the base, albeit at a heavy cost.
• Taught by Experience: Leal forces the men he's training to try man-hauling, where they use skis to pull supplies behind them and bear the harsh environmental conditions to emulate what they should do, in case their snowcats and dog sled teams die.
• Tempting Fate: Subverted. Right before Operación 90 is going to begin, Leal comments that he likes his expedition's chances, but Giró interrupts and begs him not to jinx it.
• Token Good Teammate: Lugo Pascal is one of the few people in the Argentinian navy who pushes against their hawkish methods. He reported the Wiencke Incident and its murder of two soldiers to Pujato and is worried about being transferred to Almirante Brown Naval Department, fearful that Massera intends to start a war with Chile. Pascal only wanted to defend his country and family, not aggressively invade a neighbor, an attitude that makes him feel isolated among his colleagues.
• Too Desperate to Be Picky:
  • Leal is disappointed that his request to the Institute only granted half of what he had hoped for, but accepts the favor anyway because he needs whatever he can to start Operación 90.
  • After running out of food and husky dog meat, the South Pole Assault Group reaches a new low when they start eating the leather of their spare gloves, belts, boot soles, and backpacks. Everyone can barely digest it, but they're too desperate for sustenance that they bear it. If they run out of that, the group devolves even further when they resort to cannibalism.
• Too Dumb to Live: The crew of the ARA Rosario join Massera's crusade against the Chileans in Adelaide Base, even though the ship isn't specialized for open, Antarctic waters and has a hull vulnerable to cracking if it hits ice debris. When the Rosario finally lands at Adelaide Base, they try opening howitzer fire on the Chileans, but are instantly bombarded by a naval gun that kills the entire gun crew. The others almost perish after the battle, when the flotilla is trapped in an ice floe and needs Pujato to rescue them.
• Tranquil Fury: Massera's unexpected visit of the AAI leaves Leal frustrated about his attempts to militarize Argentine Antarctica, but he does an excellent job hiding his fury under a mask of calmness.
• Video Game Caring Potential:
  • During a winter season, Pujato is given a choice of what supplies he wants and he can choose the empanadas instead of the guns needed for more training. This will lose some supplies and give no tangible benefit, other than the emotional satisfaction of keeping the men fed with a large feast.
  • Ill-prepared for the winter season, the Italians beg the AAI for aid, which Leal can agree to. This will earn Torrisi's gratitude, who promises to support them in case of conflict with the Navy.
  • If he joins Operación 90, Pujato can raise the spirits of his team by telling a story of how he founded Belgrano Base, sacrificing the chance to meet with Leal and Giró to iron out their plan of action.
• Video Game Cruelty Punishment: If Leal refuses to give aid to the Italians for the winter season, Massera will take advantage of the situation and send supplies to them, gaining Torrisi's loyalty and ensuring that he won't do anything if the Navy ever tries to usurp Leal.
• Wacky Racing: If it's their chosen vehicle, the Argentinians have so much fun driving the Snow Tracs that they have a race with them.
• The Workhorse: During his interview with Giró, Ceppi recommends using the Tucker Sno-Cats for Operación 90, which are already widely used in Argentine Antarctica. Though there are foreign replacements like the Fischer Snow Tracs or the Trackmasters, the Sno-Cats are still a viable option and are cheap enough to buy replacement parts in case of an emergency.

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